Conveyor systems are a common method for the bulk handling of materials. For example, conveyors are used in the mining and mineral processing industries, to move aggregates, for the transfer of agricultural materials and food products, and in the chemical industry. One very common form of conveyor system is the belt conveyor.
Typically, belt conveyors include an elongate belt that is joined at each end to form a continuous loop that may be rotated to move material between locations. Belt conveyors have a tail end (i.e. the end upon which material to be transported is deposited) and a head end (i.e. the end from which material is deposited at an alternate location). The tail end of the conveyor includes a tail pulley and the head of the conveyor contains a head pulley, with the continuous loop belt received around the tail and head pulleys. Product or material may be loaded onto the conveyor at its tail end in a variety of different ways. For example, material may be deposited onto the belt through the use of a bin or hopper, through placing the material on the conveyor manually, or through the use of the bucket of a loader or excavator. The rotating belt then transports the material from the tail end to the head end, after which it is released from the conveyor onto a subsequent conveyor, into a further hopper or other container, or simply into a pile for subsequent use.
Since a belt container is effectively a continuous loop of belting that is rotated to transport material from place to place, it includes an upper or “loaded” conveyor portion and a lower or “return” conveyor portion. During use, material that is deposited onto the upper surface of the upper or loaded portion of the conveyor is sometimes dislodged or otherwise spills from the upper portion onto the upper surface of the return portion of the belt. In other cases, during the process of loading the conveyor (particularly when material is deposited on the conveyor through the use of a loader or excavator) material intended to be deposited on the upper portion of the conveyor may instead fall upon the return portion. Since the return portion is moving in a direction from the head of the conveyor toward the tail of the conveyor, material that finds its way onto the upper surface of the return portion will eventually contact the tail pulley and/or other structures at the tail end of the conveyor. That material then tends to be discarded from the belt and fall onto the ground adjacent the tail of the conveyor. Eventually, when sufficient material has accumulated on the ground, it becomes necessary to remove the material and re-deposit it upon the upper surface of the belt, place the material back into a hopper or loading bin, or otherwise process or dispose of the material.
Material that finds its way onto the return portion of the conveyor may also come into contact with the tail pulley, tail pulley shaft, shaft bearings and other components of the tail end of the conveyor, potentially causing premature wear and damage. In order to help prevent damage and premature wear of the parts and components of the tail end of the conveyor, others have proposed the use of cleaning bars or arms that extend across the upper surface of the return portion of the conveyor at or near its tail end. Such bars or arms assist in wiping or cleaning the upper surface of the return belt, and to remove material that may have been spilled or accumulated thereon. While such devices are somewhat effective in helping to minimize the damage or wear that may occur to the components of the tail of the conveyor, they nevertheless still result in the accumulation of material upon the ground adjacent to the conveyor, requiring the material to be cleaned up once a sufficient amount has accumulated.